The depiction of Madonna and Christ is among the most ancient and common in Christian iconography and has an extensive number of variations because apart from its symbolic religious functions, it allows one to interpret the link between mother and child in many aspects. (8)
The history of the Madonna and Child starts in the Byzantine era. In this era paintings were not meant to look realistic, but rather were supposed to remind the viewer of a story or theological concept, in this case usually the concept that Jesus was both fully God and fully human. The years progressed and these paintings became more and more realistic as the Renaissance era was ushered in. During this time period artists strove to paint more accurate representations of their subjects. Even during this time, however there was still a use of iconology. Though all of these paintings have basically the same content, with the addition of various saints and angels, the theology that we can see in each painting differs greatly. The two paintings I will be comparing and contrasting are the Madonna Enthroned (Oginissanti Madonna) by Giotto di Bondone ca. 1310 and Madonna Enthroned with Angels and Prophets by Cimabue ca. 1280-1290. Both of these artists used the traditional
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One similarity between Giotto's and Cimabue's painting are that they show Madonna sitting on a throne with Jesus on her left side. Madonna and Jesus are also in the upper center of the painting surrounded by prophets and angels. The centers of paintings during the time were usually reserved for the Virgin Mary or Christ. (7) In both pieces, the angels and prophets are split equally on both sides of the paintings. Sometimes artists would place the same number of figures on one both sides, so as not to disturb the compositional consistency. This fundamental of symmetry had to be maintained in Byzantine art.
Another example of Christian iconography is The Transfiguration. It is located in the Church of Saint Catherine’s monaster...
This paper will compare the themes found in the paintings “Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist and an Angel” by Domenico di Bartolomeo Ubaldini (Puligo) and “Madonna Enthroned” by Giotto. Both paintings deal with fables from the Christian faith but were executed during different periods in art. The Giotto painting was created around 1310 and the Puglio painting was executed between 1518 – 1520. Here, these two paintings have similar themes both at the extreme beginnings and endings of the Italian Renaissance, and as such they serve to present an exceptional example of the developments in art that occurred within that time. This paper shall compare these two paintings through addressing a series of questions on the subject.
A common topic of artwork throughout history has been the crucifixion of Christ. Since it is such a common topic, it makes it very easy to see how artwork changed and developed from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. The painting on the left, The Crucifixion by Pietro Lorenzetti, shows the usual characteristics of a painting from the Middle Ages. The facial expressions are not varied or very in depth, Jesus and the other saints have the typical halo that is used very often, and the colors are mostly all bright, making nothing in particular stand out. The second painting, on the right, is by Caravaggio and is titled The Flagellation of Christ. There is an obvious shift from one painting to the next. Caravaggio’s piece is much more realistic.
As I look at the painting of The Adoration of The Shepherds, two artists, Andrea Mantegna and El Greco, showed it different ways with same subjects. First, the title of the paintings is about Jesus's birth. Andrea mantegna artist had lived from ca 1430 to 1506. He established his reputation when he was 20 years old. This painting is the evident of his highly individual style. He worked it during ca 1451 to 1453. He painted it in horizontal format with 153/4x217/8(40x55.6). He used tempera on a canvas that transferred from a wood. In difference, El Greco(Spain 141-1641) worked it with oil color on canvas by vertical format. The size is 125 5/8x707/8(319x180cm). In Greco's painting, the objects are full on the canvas that big two angels and others are placed on top of the middle place, and the people are placed in triangle position based on the landscape. The landscape is very detail. The people I find it that Holy Maria is standing in the middle and the mountain is placed behind of Maria among the landscape things.
Her robes sweep over her to accent the child’s struggle to free himself from his mother, and in contrast only her determined maternal grasp prevents him from stepping down and away from her. Yet another similarity is the Madonna’s sad yet knowing expression of the fate of her child. Michelangelo’s sculpture was created in the early 16th century by commission in the late 15th century by a Flemish merchant by the name of Mouscron. So, there is the possibility of the work dating to this time period or later. However, the ivory statues of the 16th century were more similar to those of the 15th century than the Blanton sculpture. Moving on to the 17th century, while there are not any sculptures with the same composition aside from the Bruges Madonna, the style of the ivory sculptures during this century are the most similar to that of the Madonna of the Grapes. The rendering of the drapery is much more natural along with the plumpness of the infant and the expression of the Madonna. For example, the drapery in the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception (Fig. 16), completed by an Anonymous artist in the late 17th century, falls naturally over the Virgin’s head and down her body, and her facial expression reflects the same serenity seen the Madonna of the Grapes. Another example is a Child awakening (Fig. 19), done by an unknown Netherlandish sculptor in the mid-17th
“The Met’s very own Mona Lisa” (Tomkins 9). That is what Duccio di Buoninsegna’s Madonna and Child painting is known as today. “The Metropolitan Museum of Art bought the Madonna and Child for forty-five to fifty million dollars” (Tomkins 1). However, the painting was not always in public hands; in fact, the Met purchased the last known work of Duccio in private hands. Originally, the painting was held in the private hands of Adolphe Stoclet and his wife. When the couple died, their house and their collection went to their son, Jacques who held onto the painting, and passed it down to his daughters who lent it to an exhibition in Siena of Duccio and his school. The painting was eventually withdrawn from the exhibition and sold (Tomkins 2). Madonna and Child painting dated 1300 and was painted by Duccio di Buoninsegna a Sienese painter, who is considered the founder of modern Italian painting. I chose to research this painting because the subject matter of religious imagery and symbols interests me. Also because when I looked at the painting the emotion on the Madonna’s face almost jumped out at me. It is as if, she is looking at her newborn child with this deep sadness, which almost makes you think that the painting is foreshadowing the death of Jesus Christ. In addition, the burns of the side of the frame peaked my interest, as to why they were there. Art critics were also interested in this work they even consider Madonna and Child one of Duccio’s perfect works, and it said to be worth all the other paintings exhibited under the name of Duccio (Christiansen 14). The Madonna and Child painting’s iconography, imagery, emotional appeal to the viewers, and meaning all make this painting still a great work of art today.
One of Piero della Francesca’s well known paintings known as, Madonna and Child with Two Angels (Senigallia Madonna), is a piece that caught my eye while browsing The Metropolitan Museum of Art located on the Upper East side of Manhattan. This piece, created circa 1478 was done in Sansepolcro, Italy and was executed with oil paint on wood sized at 24 in. x 21 1/16 in.. Piero della Francesca’s biblical portrait of the Virgin, Christ, and angels is a central icon in the Catholic church specifically of the Renaissance (rebirth) in Italy. Throughout this piece, there is an underlying theme of the Virgin Mary’s son, Jesus Christ as he is intimately represented. It is an iconic scene that has been depicted by many different artists of the Renaissance but the way that Piero della Francesca represents his iconic piece differs in that it is more than a portrait, it is a scene of the Virgin Mary and her child being blessed.
Located in a hallway nestled between the Art of Europe and Art of Ancient Worlds wings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is the Italian Renaissance Gallery (Gallery 206). Here, Donatello’s Madonna of the Clouds and Luca della Robbia’s Virgin and child with lilies face one another, vying for museum-goers’ attention from alternate sides of the narrow gallery. Both pieces indulge ingenious techniques, original at the time of conception, to create a completely new visual experience of a very traditional biblical scene, the Virgin Mary with her child, Jesus Christ. This paper will employ close visual analysis of two 15th-century Renaissance reliefs from Florence depicting the Virgin Mary and Jesus Chris in order to show how these artists used innovative
Madonna and Child in a Landscape (c. 1496-99) was painted with oil on panel by Giovanni Battista Cima, also known as Cima da Conegliano (Italy, c. 1459-1517). Cima, similar to Raphael, was well known for painting Madonna’s. This painting has a very similar composition to Raphael’s Alba Madonna. Both paintings show the main subjects in the foreground with a landscape in the background, as the landscape in Cima’s shows a village incorporated as well. While Raphael’s piece incorporates a third person (John the Baptist as a small child), in both paintings the subjects appear to create the rough shape of a triangle. Also, in both, the horizon line appears generally in the top third of the piece with a two-point perspective. Raphael’s choice of colors in his piece were more muted and dark, with a subtle play of light and shadows. On the other hand, Cima’s choice of colors were brighter, with a more luminous appearance and a much greater distinc...
In “Virgin and Child” made in early 14th century in Normandy, the Virgin Mary and Jesus are represented. The statue is made
Madonna and child is one of the early Christian paintings. It shows “Madonna” as the virgin Marry and the “Child” as baby Jesus. The artist Berlinghiero did this great painting in the Greca period in the twelfth century. This painting was done on wood with two figures in front of a gold background. Madonna is wearing a dark blue cloak with golden decorations that cover most of her body; she is also wearing a reddish dress underneath her cloak that is only visible on her arms. To show here modesty the only thing that can be seen is here arms, neck and face. Her hand has and unrealistic look to them so as if they look long and skinny. According to the museum label “Berlinghiero was always open to Byzantine influence, and this Madonna
The Lady has a white “V” neck shaped collar while the Mona Lisa has gold trim on her square shaped collar. Mona Lisa’s dress also looks a lot more flowy and lighter while the Lady’s dress seems more layered and thicker probably due to the colder weather in northern Europe. The Lady only has a dark blue canvas for a background while the Mona Lisa has a clearly defined landscape behind her with trees, water and a dirt road. The veil that the Lady wears is made from significantly thicker cloth and wears a dark colored headband. The Mona Lisa’s veil is barely visible. The Lady has a lighter hair color and is tied up in a bun with some kind of net or cap around it with silver pins tucked into it to keep her veil in place, while Mona Lisa has her dark, wavy hair draping down her shoulders in a casual yet elegant manner. We can see the ears on the Lady, but the Mona Lisa has her ears covered by her hair. The eyes of the Lady are bright and hazel colored. Mona Lisa’s eyes are dark and you can barely see her pupils in her irises. Maybe that is how Leonardo got the effect that her eyes seem to be moving. It also appears that she has no eyebrows, or they’re severely
One art piece that I’ve learned about in an Art History class was the “Ognissanti Madonna” by Giotto. I am aware that during the pre-renaissance era the artwork was heavily influenced by religious beliefs. A lot of the art were altar pieces or church paintings commissioned by religious patrons. Fortunately for us the artwork from this era heavily reflects the religious beliefs held by the people at the time. The style of the painting is in the Byzantine Christian style, but it is actually a pre-renaissance painting.
The third piece I chose was Madonna and Child with Saints (c. 1340), by the Follower of Bernado Daddi. This painting is one of the many Early Italian Art’s, meaning that the paintings were made during the twelfth – fifteenth centuries through religion. This painting is also polychromatic and asymmetrical. There are six people in the painting, including the infant. The Virgin and the infant, which is known as Child, share a tender exchange, while the other four has their own. This painting focuses as an aid to prayer through
Music is an inspirational outlet that can be used to convey a message to other people who relate to that message. Music can become even stronger when the person who is performing it is an inspirational source as well. For the past 30 years Madonna has become a well-known artist, actress, and role model to the people who support her. All artists know that they are only number one until someone else comes along and replaces them with more intriguing work to offer. Lady Gaga has been said to be the new Madonna of our generation and is quite often compared to her in many ways by her musical and styling choices. They both share similarities such as their musical genre, style, feminine empowerment, and their support towards the gay community. Their differences can also be seen in those same fields as well.